The Italian banking crisis is threatening to rock the foundations of the financial institutions across the EU, according to market analysts. Shares of Italian banks have plummeted, losing over 30% of their trading value on stock markets, following the Brexit. The EU is on high alert, with Monday’s Euroworkin group EwG is expected to focus solely on the Italian banking crisis. The oldest bank in Italy, Banca Monte die Paschi di Siena (BMPS) is the tip of the iceberg, with nearly 47bln Euros in non performing loans on its balance sheet. The Italian bank failed to find a investors willing to buy it out in 2014. This led its stake holders to gradually abandon the institution causing a massive dumping of its shares which in turn resulted in stocks losing 77% from the start of 2016. The ECB has made it clear that BMPS sou,d have to reduce 40% of its non performing loans in the next 3 years, while any financial support by the Italian state has been ruled out given the current EU regulations and the strong opposition by Berlin. The crisis in Italy has affected banks in Germany too, as investors also focused on German banks. Deutsche Bank recorded losses of 5% with pundits fearing for the future of the bank. Societe Generale CEO, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said the Italian bank crisis could spread to the rest of Europe, adding that the strict rules that prohibit state funding of banks should be reconsidered